Simple webcam example that captures a frame or video.

[Bill Cravener]

I was digging around in one of my computer junk drawers last weekend and discovered I had an old Lifecam Show webcam which I can't remember how I came to own. Anyway I installed the software for it that came with the webcam which after installation used some 30M of drive space. Well I thought to myself that's ridicules ridiculous that it took 30M to simply display a capture window with the options to take a frame snapshot or to create a short video from my webcam. After digging around in the Windows API reference I came up with my own little Masm32 webcam app that does just about everything the Microsoft software does and at less then 20K. I have tested my little example on both XP and Windows 7. It enables you to capture a single frame or a 10 second video. Of course you must have some sort of webcam installed on your PC for the app to work.


http://www.quickersoft.com/examples/WebCam.zip

Or it can be downloaded from my site link below.

Example frame capture (size 300K): http://www.quickersoft.com/pictures/CapturedImage.bmp
Example video capture (size 12M): http://www.quickersoft.com/pictures/WebCamVideo.avi


Edit: What is it with me and the word ridiculous?

[hutch--]

 

I don't keep a webcam but I liked the short video, "You talkin' to me ?"  :icon14:

[Bill Cravener]

I don't keep a webcam but I liked the short video, "You talkin' to me ?"  :icon14:

Hi Steve,

I was trapped indoors last weekend because it was 100F outside and just too damn hot to be outdoors. Finding that webcam gave me something to play with for a couple days. Like you I have no need for a webcam but it kept me out of trouble while it lasted.

[hutch--]

Bill,

What is the gadget in the background, it looks like a gym weights machine ?

[Bill Cravener]

That's my Weider Pro 3650 Gym that hasn't been getting much use lately. I tend to use it during the winter months when I'm not getting any outdoor activity. I've had it a long time, that and my old DP Powermate Treadmill which I do use year round. Funny thing is even though I exercise through out the year I'm still getting them love handles and a bit of a belly. Of course it's probably because the older I get the more I like to eat and at 6' 1" 225 pounds I need to exercise a might more me thinks.

[Gunther]

Nice picture, Bill.

By the way, I visited your web site and I was surprised. I saw your clock with the right time, but I'm sure that we're living in different time zones. What is your trick?

Gunther

[jj2007]

my own little Masm32 webcam app that does just about everything the Microsoft software does and at less then 20K

You need to express that in Megabytes for Windows 8 users to understand, Bill:

"does just about everything the Microsoft software does and at less than 0.012MB, of which 0.0077 for an embedded image"

:t

[dedndave]

yes - nice image and video
great quality

the one thing i see is that programs like skype, yahoo messenger, etc require some sort of standardized driver interface

not that i need a cam - noone wants to look at my ugly puss   :(

[Bill Cravener]

Hi Gunther,

That's just a simple Adobe Flash clock I put together. It simply retrieves whatever your local system time is and displays it as an analog clock.


Jochen,

I'm willing to predict that Windows 8 will be a total failure and Billy Gates will fire Ballmer's ass shortly there after.

not that i need a cam - noone wants to look at my ugly puss   

That's just not true, I'd bet money Z loves that ugly face of yours.

[Gunther]

Bill,

That's just a simple Adobe Flash clock I put together. It simply retrieves whatever your local system time is and displays it as an analog clock.

Good trick.

Gunther

[Bill Cravener]

Thanks Gunther,

Flash is disliked by many but I feel it has its uses. For example I use it a good bit on Knievel Cycles web sites because it enables me a means to present their motorcycles and the many optional features they offer to a customer when designing a custom built bike. I think there was an effort to kill Flash on mobiles especially by Apple but the demand for its use and the popularity of ActionScript keeps it going. I mean who doesn't use sites like YouTube and it seems all the big news and business sites use Flash for banners and such. I don't see Flash dying off anytime soon even though some would like it to.

[dedndave]

flash is like guns - lol
the guns aren't bad - some people that use them are

flash can be an annoying advertisement or a well-presented interactive graphic

[gscundiff]

Anyone know where I can get the Webcam.zip file now?

[dedndave]

they're probably still on the site
he must have moved them, is all   :P

[Gunther]

Hi gscundiff,

Anyone know where I can get the Webcam.zip file now?

I think Bill can help you.

Gunther